Across the US Grinches are already stealing Christmas

By Aaron Edwards, Digital First Media

Monday, December 10, 2012

One stole a Christmas tree from a Rite Aid parking lot. Another swiped a baby Jesus figurine from Christmas Village in a small town. And much to the dismay of some university students, someone stole 92 feet of Christmas lights from an Alumni Center.

Across the country, Christmas Grinches are stealing what isn’t theirs and robbing people of holiday cheer. But might these thieves have a change of heart come Christmas time, just like the infamous green man himself? Only time will tell, but some of these stories speak for themselves.

This local Grinch stole presents from children at a church

Pennsylvania state police said they are investigating after someone broke into Liberty Baptist Church in North Union Township and stole 20 Christmas presents intended for local children. The Rev. Ewing Marietta said the gifts included remote-control cars, soccer balls, basketballs and a football that members of the congregation purchased as gifts for local children.

Members of the congregation take a name off the tree and buy a present for the child, returning them to the church, which then distributes the gifts. The church will host an auction to raise money for the lost presents.

— via the Herald StandardAnd a group of juveniles swiped a baby Jesus figurine

The Torrington Police Department identified two juvenile suspects on Dec. 3 that they say were involved in the theft from Christmas Village, and arrest warrant applications for the underage suspects have been filed. Both will be charged with criminal trespassing and larceny in Bantam Superior Court.

According to Lt. Michael Emanuel, the juveniles allegedly removed a Baby Jesus figurine as a prank and then brought it in the woods in the area of Gleason Street and the Forest Street Bridge.

Christmas Village is a perennial holiday destination that celebrates its 65th year in 2012. It was the first Christmas attraction of its kind in the United States and has inspired similar destinations around the country.

Police are looking for two late-night bandits who robbed two east Ann Arbor neighborhoods of holiday cheer.

The culprits hit 11 homes in the overnight hours between Monday and Tuesday, ripping off wreaths, lighted candy canes and penguins, damaging fence posts and unraveling lights off trees, in some cases uprooting them.

But police are hoping surveillance footage from a homeowner in the 2500 block of Bedford may help solve this potential fraternity prank in which the suspects made off with about $1,000 in decorations.

Two men stole Christmas trees from a lot at Rite Aid on Freedom Boulevard near Santa Cruz, Calif.

The first man, 32-year-old Ernesto Mendoza, was spotted loading a Christmas tree into his car about 4:20 p.m., said Watsonville police Sgt. Saul Gonzalez. The man left the lot at 1988 Freedom Blvd. without paying for the tree, police said. The tree cost less than $30.

— via the San Jose Mercury News, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Even a place called ‘Candy Cane Lane’ wasn’t safe

The Grinch may have also hit the San Fernando Valley’s most festive neighborhood. About $400 worth of Christmas decorations were stolen earlier this week from Bill and Rosemarie Rush’s front yard along the famed section of Woodland Hills known as Candy Cane Lane.

The couple decorated their home in the 5800 block of Lubao Avenue during the holiday season as part of the neighborhood’s Christmas light display for the past two decades.